Architect, writer, speaker, former radio comedian, designer of PNC Park and Daikin Park
Kansas City, MO
Joined October 2011
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I cannot overstate how important it is that you recognize that 200 square feet is not the same as 200 feet square.
This is what's known as "Hollywood accounting," where if you agree to a share of net profit, you'll never see a dime no matter how well the film does.
By 1995, Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks had grossed $661 million worldwide. Paramount told novelist Winston Groom, entitled to 3% of net profits, that the film had lost roughly $62 million through the end of 1994.
Groom received $350,000 for the rights, with more to come if the film generated net profits. Hanks negotiated a share of gross receipts, so his payments did not depend on what remained after expenses.
After theaters took their share, Paramount charged a distribution fee of 32% of its receipts. Advertising, production, overhead, financing interest and payments to Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis further reduced the balance available to net-profit participants.
In the video below, Hanks explains how he and Zemeckis personally paid for the cross-country running sequence the studio wanted to cut. In exchange, they negotiated a larger share of the film’s proceeds.
In 1995, after threatening legal action, Groom resolved the dispute and signed a seven-figure deal for the sequel rights. This time, his share would be calculated before expenses.
The studio collected its distribution fee while reporting a loss for net-profit participants. Did Groom negotiate badly, or was Paramount offering a share of profits its own fees could erase?
Thanks @EricZeman1 for finding these before I could. The Pirate Ship That Might Have Been.
Interesting chart, but how the heck does Buffalo have the second highest quality of life score?
America’s most livable cities, at local median salary and local tax rate.
New York: this is probably the reason why Mamdani won
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
The chart's "most livable cities" rankings and quality-of-life data rely on Numbeo, a crowdsourced site where anyone can submit or alter entries; it carries explicit disclaimers on accuracy and has been widely criticized by experts and media as unreliable.
numbeo.com/common/terms_o…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbeo
tf1info.fr/international/…
Talk about embedded in a neighborhood! But where will everyone park?!?
David Greusel retweeted
A number of people I know are perplexed at my hatred of graffiti. This is the reason. It is always the imposition of the values of an aggressive bullying minority over the peaceable, quiet majority. It is violence masquerading as art.
Read it and weep. Or laugh. Or both.
I can't believe it's been 20 years since we lost Buck O'Neil. How do you possibly sum up a life that great?
joeposnanski.com/p/forty-fiv…
David Greusel retweeted
PNC Park is the answer and the margin is enormous. It opened in 2001 with fewer than 40,000 seats at a time when everyone else was building bigger, and the payoff is an upper deck genuinely close to the field.
You can hear the game from the last row. The right field wall is 21 feet high for Roberto Clemente's number.
The view is the real trick. The Allegheny River, the yellow bridges and the downtown skyline in one frame, and the park is oriented deliberately to give you that. Fenway and Wrigley have history. PNC has the best sight line anybody designed on purpose.
David Greusel retweeted
In 26 seasons, this gem of a sports venue has only witnessed the postseason 3 times.
PNC Park deserves better. So much better.
David Greusel retweeted
Developer : We want to turn a dive bar and parking lot into 350 apartments!
Urbanist : How many of those units will be affordable?
Developer : How many affordable units did the parking lot provide?
What is it with architects and terrifying stairways? I don't want to be terrified--I just want to go to bed.
